Middle East

(Informed Comment) – “At first when Adel (my son) got arrested, I was a wreck, thinking about his future, school and education, he loves to play football and reading, he was very good at school. The idea that he is losing precious childhood time- breaks my heart. but then I need to be strong and […]

Far Right

Israel: Key Far-Right Faction to be Headed by even Farther-Right anti-Palestinian Ideologue

Middle East Monitor

(Middle East Monitor) – An extreme right-wing member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has been elected to lead a faction of the Jewish Home party. Bezalel Smotrich MK is renowned for his pro-settlement views. Smotrich, who currently serves as the Deputy Knesset Speaker, was elected yesterday to head the National Union, an extreme faction […]

Kurds

Turkey will set up and itself Manage Syria ‘Security Zone’ after Trump Call

Fulya Ozerkan

By Fulya OZERKAN | – Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey welcomed the planned withdrawal of some 2,000 US troops from Syria but the future of US-backed Kurdish militia forces there labelled terrorists by Ankara has poisoned US-Turkish ties Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Ankara would set up a “security zone” in northern Syria […]

al-Qaeda

Is an al-Qaeda Front dominating 3 Million People in North Syria?

AFP

By Michel MOUTOT | – Paris (AFP) – The jihadist group now controlling Idlib province in northwest Syria claims to have broken with Al-Qaeda, but analysts say that despite several rebrandings there’s no sign it has changed its stripes. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) sealed its hold on Idlib last week after signing a ceasefire with […]

Donald Trump

Who’s Running John Bolton to Start a war with Iran? He worried even Mad Dog Mattis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – National Security Adviser John Bolton lied his face off when he told Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on his recent Mideast junket that he was sure Iran’s leaders are dedicated to acquiring deliverable nuclear weapons. Nuclear security expert Joe Cirincione shredded Bolton over his false assertion, which is contradicted by […]

Donald Trump

Trump: “We’ll Devastate Turkey Economically” if it Hits Syrian Kurds

AFP

Washington, DC (AFP) – President Donald Trump warned Turkey on Sunday of economic devastation if it attacks Kurdish forces in the wake of the US troop pullout from Syria, while also urging the Kurds not to “provoke” Ankara. Trump took to Twitter to reveal some of his latest thoughts in the slow drip-drip of information […]

Iran

Iraq welcomes Iran Foreign Minister after Pompeo, denounces US Sanctions as “Illegal”

AFP

Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | – Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali al-Hakim (R) receives his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Baghdad on January 13, 2019 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad on Sunday for wide-ranging talks, including on US sanctions against Tehran. The visit came just days […]

Qatar

Ostracized by Neighbors, Qatar aims to Invest $45 bn in United States

Middle East Monitor

Qatar Investment Authority aims to raise investments in the United States to $45 billion in the next two years as it rebalances its portfolio of assets away from Europe, its chief executive said on Sunday according to a Reuters report. The sovereign wealth fund has built up a huge European portfolio through stakes in companies […]

Corporate Surveillance

Snowden: If Israel’s NSO had Refused Sale to Saudis, Khashoggi would be Alive

Middle East Monitor

US whistle-blower Edward Snowden has said that if Israeli spyware firm NSO Group had refused to sell its technology to Saudi Arabia, murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi would still be alive. In an exclusive interview with Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published yesterday, Snowden stressed: “There is a real possibility that if NSO had refused to […]